Changing Facets
by Cokies07
Summary: When Kiba finally begins to notice the problems in his team's home lives, he decides to take matters into his own hands, on the way learing a thing or two about life, friendship, and, perhaps, love?
1. Beginnings

**DISCLAIMER**:

All characters within are the explicit property of Masashi Kishimoto, et al. I have no part of them to call my own.

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**Beginnings**

The quick pad of feet on the ground was almost silent, only barely heard over the slight rushing of leaves over the hard packed earth. His breath came in quick, harsh pants, as he ran, as silently as he could through the dark streets of Konoha by the light of the moon.

Beside him, his loyal companion, once a puppy small enough to fit in the hood of his jacket, trotted, keeping his pace easily. He nodded to the white dog once, and watched him veer off down a small side street. He was almost there.

The full moon shone brilliantly, lighting the high walls on the perimeter of the Hyuuga household. He grunted quietly in exertion as he ran straight at the wall, barely hesitating before throwing himself up and over the structure. he landed almost silently in the bushes closest to the main pond, crouching as he began to quietly slide his way alongside the wall and to the back of the complex.

Kiba carefully masked his chakra, counting down the last few seconds before- a howl cut through the stillness of the night, a harsh, almost mournful sound that was quickly picked up by the dogs of the city. Akamaru had done it again, as seconds later, the raucous sound of every animal's respective noise reverberated down the once quiet streets. With a quiet exhalation, Kiba slid along the wall as fast as he could and raced for the one window in the complex not guarded by chakra traps: Hinata's.

His teammate was allowing herself the rare luxury of deep sleep, as she was safe in her home. Kiba mentally growled and revised his opinion of her state of being: she was not asleep, but unconscious, as evidenced by a large bruise on her temple. With hands as gentle as he could manage them, he picked up the lithe body of his friend and turned for the still open window.

Footsteps sounded down the hall, coming closer with every second. Eyes widening, Kiba bent Hinata's small frame at the waist, curled her body to his with one arm and leaped across the room, out the window, and across the lawn. Thirty seconds later, a soft whistle drew Akamaru to the end of the street where the Hyuuga complex sat. The large dog snuffed quietly, recognizing the scent of the unconscious girl and disliking the undertones of pain and fear that lingered.

Kiba nodded to him once, then gently placed Hinata on Akamaru's broad, white, shaggy back. Together, they raced across the city, coming closer to their destination: Sakura's house.

Though it might have been close to three in the morning, Sakura answered her door at the first knock, fully dressed and hands slightly glowing with concentrated chakra. She relaxed slightly at the sight of two friends, but tensed again as she noticed Hinata on Akamaru. Kiba nodded at her once, and she stepped aside, letting the large dog and his precious cargo into the room.

As the two ninja gently took their unconscious comrade from her perch and laid her on a soft bed, Sakura glared at Kiba, expecting an explanation. She began to work, medical ninjutsu being put to use on the various breaks, bruises, and cuts on the young woman's body.

"She missed training again. Shino had a tracker bug on her," He smiled as Sakura's brows rose in skepticism. "He has one on all of us, actually. But when she didn't show up, or even send her summons with a message for us, he used the bug's mate to find her. We stopped outside the complex..." His eyes narrowed as he remembered the sounds of sparring and Hinata grunting in pain. "Hiashi had her fighting Hanabi again. I think... I think he's planning to disown her, when Hanabi comes of age."

Hinata stirred slightly, coming out of unconsciousness, but drifting into sleep very quickly. Sakura nodded once, gently applied a small bit of pressure to the bruise on Hinata's head, and healed it, before standing and motioning for Kiba to do the same.

"She had two broken ribs, a fractured femur, dislocated right arm, and numerous cuts and bruises all over her body. Are you sure it was Hanabi that did this?"

Kiba nodded, looking to Akamaru for confirmation. The dog sniffed at the prone girl's body and wuffed softly. "Yeah, it was Hanabi. Her scent is all over Hinata. And Shino and I saw the end of the fight." He winced a little, then met Sakura's gaze. "The girl is vicious and brutal. She doesn't care at all that she's hurting Hinata. And Hiashi would not stop the fight for anything, since it proves to him that Hinata is weak." he clenched his fist angrily. "He doesn't see that Hinata can't hurt Hanabi, can't hurt her sister. She's strong, Sakura. Much stronger that Hanabi will ever be..."

"And Neji?" Sakura's voice had a dangerous edge to it.

Kiba swallowed hard, thankful that he had not seen the aforementioned Hyuuga earlier that day. "I didn't see him."

She nodded and looked away, muttering under her breath, in a decibel that Kiba could barely hear, "He had better not have anything to do with these injuries or I'll take them out of his hide next time I see him. Boyfriend, or not..."

Kiba smiled a little at the strong Kunoichi's words before returning his attention to the young woman on the bed. "Sakura?"

She looked at him, following his gaze to Hinata before nodding. "I'll take care of her."

Kiba turned away, hand barely gliding over the ruff of Akamaru's neck. Both dog and master turned away from the scene, eyes narrowing as they stepped out of the peace of the house and into the dark night, back to the chaos of the life they knew so well.

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**Author's Note:**

Hello to everyone who has decide to read through this first chapter of a story that may or may not be good… (wow, with that vote of confidence, who needs flamers?)

Ok, to business. I apologize for how long it has been since I have written anything, and hope you enjoy this story which will, eventually be Kiba/Hina.

Feel free to review with any comment you may have, be it a simple "It was good" or "It was bad".

Thank you, and see you next chapter

-**NAD**


	2. Look Beneath

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own any of the characters intorduced within the following story. They are, unless explicitly stated otherwise, the property of one Masashi Kishimoto, et al.  
Thank you.

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The steady sound of feet pounding dirt was all that was audible in the still night. Kiba veered sharply, ducking under a tree and swerving around a corner, heading for the end of the Aburame complex. He jogged up to the wall, jumping over it with one fluid motion and landing neatly on one of the many paths that crossed the still garden.

As he ran, he mentally reviewed the catalogue of Hinata's injuries and compared them to another day, two weeks before when Hinata had missed practice. Another staged fight with Hanabi had given her numerous cuts and a broken rib. His brow furrowed as he noted what a difference the two weeks had wrought in Hanabi's attacks.

With a quiet grunt, Kiba leaped to the sill of his teammate's window, which was, as was the habit of the bug-user, locked. "Shino."

The quiet call was enough to rouse the man within. The window opened without so much as a creak and the impassive face of said young man was lighted by the moon. "Kiba."

"Hinata's hurt." Kiba clenched his fist, relaxing it only when he noted how Shino gazed at the slight splintering of the wood on the sill.

"She fought Hanabi." Shino raised one brow elegantly, waiting for Kiba to continue.

"I found her unconscious..."

With a nod, Shino pulled on his coat, pushed his sunglasses up his nose, and waited for Kiba to jump down from the window before doing so himself as well. The two young ninja ran down the streets of Konoha, making their way to Sakura's house, and their injured teammate.

Shino knocked on the door of the house once, briefly, in his understated way, asking for admittance within. The door was opened by a very sleep-rumpled Naruto in pajamas who yawned widely, leaving the door open as he turned and disappeared up the stairs, presumably to resume his interrupted sleep. Shino raised an eyebrow, shot a sideways glance at a stunned Kiba, and made his way to the back of the house, where Sakura tended to her wounded friends most often.

He entered the small, sterile room quietly, nodding once at Sakura before allowing a hand to hover over Hinata's pale one. A tiny black Kikaichuu crept from beneath the sleeve of his large coat and dropped onto Hinata's hand. A few seconds later, the tiny bug flew back to his master, landing on a fingertip. Shino studied the bug carefully before nodding and allowing it to run back to its home beneath his skin. He looked up at the other two ninja and reported. "Her chakra is very weak. She seems to have expended almost all of it, though she shows no sign of exertion."

"Blocking." Kiba's voice was almost a growl as he spoke. "She did her shield technique."

"**Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō**, Kiba..." Shino's words were accompanied by a small smile which he hid beneath his coat collar.

"Whatever she calls it. It drains her and she did it to keep from having to attack Hanabi." He growled and turned away. "And Hisashi still calls her weak..."

Sakura shrugged once and looked from one man to the other. "Whatever she did, if her chakra is weak, then she'll have a hard time healing herself for a few weeks. Which means..."

"No missions, basically. If she gets hurt..." Kiba trailed off.

"She won't." Short, abrupt, classic Shino. He turned away from the three and began to exit the room when Hinata stirred, her breathing becoming labored and her brow furrowing.

"Don't... Hanabi, don't listen to him..." She tossed and turned, sweat breaking out on her face as her hands began to wander over the blanket. Suddenly, she sat upright, a half-choked scream escaping her as her eyes snapped open. "No!!" A tiny spark of chakra built up on her palms before it flickered and disappeared.

"Hinata!" Kiba grabbed her hands, enclosing them in his as he struggled in vain to calm down his panicking teammate. He grimaced, feeling the sluggish flow of chakra within her hands. He turned, wild eyes landing on Sakura. "She's building up chakra, but it's so... weak..."

Sakura nodded and prepared to knock out Hinata again, hands glowing a light green. Just as her hand reached the base of Hinata's neck, said girl jerked violently, virtually throwing herself on to a startled Kiba. She curled into his body, even as she tensed. "I'll take her place, please. Please, let her go. She's just a child... please... Please!!!"

Kiba wrapped his arms around the trembling woman on his lap, eyes narrowed into slits as she began to cry. Shino's brows were raised, one hand half reaching for the tormented girl. Sakura drew her hand back, a soft gasp escaping her as the context of Hinata's pleading words reached her.

"It's ok, Hinata. You're ok. Hanabi is fine. Just sleep. I have you. Shino and Sakura are here, too. We'll protect you. I promise..." Kiba spoke softly, lulling Hinata into a restful sleep, safely encircled in his arms.

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**Author's Note:**

Ok, so this chapter was posted a lot earlier than I thought it would be… special thanks go to fishgirlclw, bscharming, and Elviella for reviewing and giving me the encouragement to post this chapter.


	3. Morning Surprises

**DISCLAIMER** :  
Let's keep it simple, shall we? I don't own any characters in this story. It is purely a work of fiction created to entertain both myself and those who read it, for which I make no profit.

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The few hours before sunrise were spent with a fitfully sleeping Hinata alternately clinging to and jerking away from Kiba. Shino stood guard, his back to the wall, arms crossed, watching the exchange of his teammates. Sakura had long since retired to sleep, having been worn out from both the early emergency and a mission she had recently retuned from.

Now, as the sun rose, lighting the small room through the narrow high window, Hinata finally relaxed enough for Kiba to lay her down on the bed, gently extricating himself from her surprisingly strong grasp. He nodded to Shino, eyes flicking to the front of the house. Shino nodded and followed him out of the room.

The two had barely taken a few steps before they came face to face with a rather surly Sasuke. Shino, by far the more diplomatic of the duo, gently palmed a kunai with his right hand as Kikaichuu began to race down his arms. "Sasuke."

At this, Kiba finally snapped out of his worried and slightly sleep-induced stupor, growling dangerously and crouching, cursing himself for having sent Akamaru home the night before. "What the hell are you doing here, Sasuke?"

Sasuke turned to them, eyes lightening into the dangerous red of the Sharingan, stance widening, centering himself for a fight. His lips curled into a sneer. "What am I doing here? Can't you think of anything more original than that, Inuzuka? Or did half of your brain disappear with your dog?"

Before Kiba could jump on Sasuke for the grevious insult, Naruto leaped down the stairs, "Sasuke!!! What are you doing without your henge? Someone could see you!!" He turned around and looked at the fighting stance of the two ninja he had let in the night before. "What are you doing?"

Shino straightened slowly, sheathing his kunai and calling most of his Kikaichuu back to himself, leaving only a bare minimum flying in the hallway...including one that stealthily crawled beneath the collar of Sasuke's shirt. Shino believed in being prepared for emergencies after the last time he'd seen Sasuke... "What is Sasuke doing here, Naruto?"

"What do you mean?" Naruto rubbed the back of his head in a confused manner, "He lives here, of course."

Kiba growled. "He's been classified as a missing-nin for four years now, Naruto. What the hell do you mean, 'He lives here'?"

The tense four-way standoff would have continued for an unknown amount of time had Sakura not chosen that moment to walk down the stairs. She looked from one angry face, to the two aloof ones, to the confused one and shook her head, sighing. "How about I explain after breakfast, guys? I can't deal with two broody people and two hyper ones without some food first." She stepped among the four and passed them, making her way to the adjacent kitchen.

For five minutes, the four continued to stare at each other, until the scent of Sakura's cooking, which smelt suspiciously of pancakes, flooded the hall. Kiba's nose twitched, much to the detriment of his dignity and Sasuke smirked, unknowingly copying Shino's hidden expression. When they all turned to the kitchen, it was done so warily, Naruto eyeing Kiba, who watched Shino, who stared at Sasuke. It was, in fact, a very amusing version of follow-the-leader that the four deadly men appeared to be playing.

Sakura dished up five plates of pancakes while Sasuke scooped rice into bowls and Naruto cut fruit. Kiba and Shino watched, wondering what alternate universe they had stepped in to be privy to the surreal sight of two dangerous ninja dishing up breakfast.

When all were seated, food in front of them and tea in each cup, Sakura glared at Sasuke and Naruto, then rolled her eyes at the suspicious expressions still present on Kiba and Shino's faces. "Sasuke has lived here, with Naruto and I for the past year." She waited for the cry of disbelief from Kiba to end. "He came to the village four years ago and talked to Tsunade-sama. He was working as a spy from the time Orochimaru's sound village fell until just recently..."

"Three months ago to be exact." Sasuke's dry voice interrupted Sakura's explanation. He reached across the small table, taking a honey pot and drizzling a bit over his fruit, then replacing the pot and smirking at the gobsmaked expressions on Kiba and Shino's faces.

"Yes, thank you for that little fact, Sasuke." Sakura rolled her eyes fondly at the man. "As I was saying, he returned to the village before he was made a missing-nin. In fact, it was as a cover for his activities that he was designated as a missing-nin at all. You have met his alter-ego, in fact. He usually masquerades as one of Neji's cousins, since Hyuugas have access to just about every place in the village.

"Sasuke was behind most of our Akatsuki information, and has been helping Naruto harness his elemental chakra for two years or so..." She sent a warning glare to the resident fact-checker, who wisely kept his mouth shut, and continued. "So, that's the abridged version of the story. Any questions?"

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**Author's Note:  
**Another quick update! (That's a record for me, actually…)  
And I'm off to finish typing chapter 4.  
And for those of you who've never read any of my stories, yes, they do tend to have chapters this short...

Special thanks goes to reviewers fuzzy-lemonade (yes, I will write more, and I'm slightly perturbed at your penname… the literal visual image is quite... hmm), and fishgirlclw (yes, there IS something else going on with the Hanabi and the heiress thing… but just what, exactly? I have two versions, the disturbing, and the horrifying and I have yet to choose which one I will take).


	4. One Step Forward

**DISCLAIMER:**  
This story is my property. The characters within it, are not.

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Hinata opened her eyes, ready to mask the pain her body remembered from the previous day's fight with Hanabi. Hanabi did not understand what she did for her, Hinata was sure. But then again, Hanabi had no idea what a burden the title of Lady Hyuuga was... Her thoughts were cut short as she realized that there was no pain in her body but the slight soreness of overexertion in her chakra coils. With much trepidation, she activated her Byakuugan, wincing as even that small amount of chakra began to drain her already low reserves.

The few seconds of her bloodline limit's activation left her with a wealth of information and a headache. She learned that she was in Sakura's house, where said kunoichi was speaking to Naruto: as indicated by his vast chakra reserves, Shino: whose Kikaichuu left a recognizable imprint on his chakra signature, Kiba: whose untamed chakra flared wildly as his attention shifted, and Sasuke?: the subdued chakra with a tint of darkness could only indicate three living people, but she was sure only Sasuke would be received with any less than certain death here...

Hinata shook her head and gathered her strength, gently sliding off the bed and making her way slowly to the kitchen. She leaned against the wall opposite the kitchen table where the four were seated, inadvertently placing herself directly in Sasuke's line of sight.

"Any questions?" Sakura's voice was strong and steady, the usual tone for the strong kunoichi.

As Kiba began to bluster out something that would, invariably, become an insult, Sasuke nodded once at her, causing Shino and Sakura to look at the point where his gaze was directed. Kiba quieted after a second of noting that neither of the people seated beside him were paying attention to the half formed words spewing out of his mouth. He quickly turned, craning his neck to see Hinata standing behind him. He opened his mouth to greet her, but was cut off by her soft declaration.

"Good morning, Sakura. Thank you for treating my injuries. I was... clumsy in a fight yesterday." She ignored Kiba's scoff and Shino's raised eyebrows. "Good morning Naruto, Sasuke. I hope I did not inconvenience you in any way?" She paused as the two muttered words of dissent. "Good morning, Shino. I apologize for having disrupted your morning." Her eyes were worried, but she smiled slightly as Shino shook his head once. "Kiba, good morning, as well. I hope you did not spend the night worried instead of asleep..?" Her voice was soft and sincere.

Kiba blushed slightly and stammered what may have been an agreement, though the others were not too sure of it. He stood quietly and approached Hinata, watching how her eyes darted away from him in a slightly fearful way. Though he was almost sure she did not fear him, he was still slightly hurt at the glimmer of caution in her eyes, as well as terribly angry with whoever had caused shadows to haunt her.

Hinata braced herself against the wall, fighting to convince herself that she was among friends, that, though there were four men in the room, they would never... she jerked slightly as Kiba stretched a hand toward her, violently wrenching herself from that train of thought. She forced herself to take the outstretched hand, leaning on him slightly as he escorted her the tiny distance to the table. As she sat down, she allowed herself to tremble briefly before raising her eyes, looking straight into Sasuke's: possibly the worst place for her gaze to land. She cringed, waiting for the inevitable question.

"You are not surprised to see me." Sasuke stared that the cowering woman sitting before him. She looked so frail, weak: breakable.

Hinata shook her head slowly. "Your chakra is... different than most. It is not easy to mistake it."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, but nodded and let the subject drop, easily switching the topic of conversation to Naruto by flicking a peach pit at the loud blonde. In the ensuing commotion, Hinata's lack of surprise was overlooked by all but her teammates who shared a glance with many meanings: worry, fondness, a wish to protect, and confusion.

Several hours later, Sakura cornered Hinata in the mini hospital room. She gave the young woman a searching look. "I don't know what you're hiding, Hinata, and I won't pry, but your team needs you. And‚ maybe it would be better for you to tell them why it is you're so scared of them..." She waited for Hinata to stop stuttering a denial. "Or why you're so scared of men in general." She nodded at her patient and walked away, passing Kiba in the hall.

He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, brows furrowed, glaring at the floor. As Sakura passed by him, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "She's scared. Of me?"

"I don't know what she's scared of, Kiba. Only she does." She shrugged off his hand and walked away, back to her roommates and their raucous yelling match.

Kiba watched Sakura walk away before trudging down the hall. He knocked lightly on the doorframe, waiting for Hinata's soft reply before walking in. "Hey..."

She smiled at him, but her eyes were wary. "Kiba. I am sorry for the inconvenience. You did not have to..."

"Hinata." He couldn't help the undertone of steel in his voice, nor the hurt that flooded him when she flinched and looked at the floor. "You're my teammate. My friend. 'All together or not at all' remember? We've gone against Konoha's rules to stay together." He waited for her to meet his gaze, then stepped closer slowly. "I'd do anything for you. Just like we'd do anything for Shino, and he'd do anything for us. I did 'have to'. And I always will." He gently brushed a knuckle across her cheekbone, smiling slightly as she leaned into the caress, eyes losing their wariness for the first time. "Let's go. Shino's waiting."

He stepped away from her and smiled, letting her pass in front of him and walk out of the room, leaving a few of her worries behind, and trusting in him. Maybe she hadn't spilled all her secrets to him, but it was a start...

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**Author's Note:**  
Well, this chapter was a bit difficult to write without knowing which direction i'm headed in, but I suppose it came out pretty well...  
Thanks goes to Fishy, who insisted on being called so, and, consequently made me chuckle and think of Sasuke tossing part of a peach at Naruto... so, that bit's all yours.  
Until next time, then.


	5. Two Steps Back

**DISCLAIMER:**  
I do not own any of the characters within. All are property of Kishimoto-san, et al.

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Shino and Kiba walked on either side of Hinata, carefully keeping their distance from her, hoping to appease her slight fear of them. Kiba glanced at Hinata, worry shining in his eyes at the way her gaze kept flicking from Shino, to himself, and back. He watched her watch them for a few seconds, then returned to his brooding.

They were a few minutes away from the Hyuuga complex when Shino stiffened suddenly. From the way his shoulders froze, Hinata and Kiba knew he was in pain, but he didn't say anything: simply nodding at them and walking away, in the direction of the Aburame complex with the same, pained, stiff gait.

Hinata looked at Shino's retreating back, eyes narrowed before activating her Byakuugan quickly. In the second she allowed herself to spy with all-seeing eyes on her teammate, she noticed only one thing amiss: the Kikaichuu's signature on Shino's chakra seemed to have become more prominent. She sighed and rubbed her head, tenderly caressing what would soon be a full blown headache.

Kiba brushed his arm against hers gently, in a seemingly accidental mood that years of partnership had perfected, silently asking her what was wrong.

"Shino's chakra has always been... marked by the presence of his Kikaichuu..." She looked at the man as he turned the street corner and disappeared from sight. "But the signature has become... well, the main feature, for lack of better words." She looked into Kiba's eyes, the skittishness that had been so prominent only moments before, receding in the wake of this new worry.

Kiba nodded and glanced at the path they were on, silently urging Hinata to continue walking. As they began to move along, he frowned. "I have to go pick up Akamaru. We'll see how much has changed in his scent and chakra strength. Meanwhile..." His eyes darted to the imposing wall of the Hyuuga compound they were rapidly approaching before returning to her. "Take care of yourself Hinata. And don't let Hanabi fight you. You need to recuperate, strengthen your chakra. After all," He began to turn around, leaving her at the threshold to the place she lived in, "You're much stronger than you let others see most of the time. It would be a shame to see you take another dive for her sake..."

He left her there, gaping and blushing furiously, and ran to the outskirts of the city, past the river so many ninja were fond of training by, and into the untamed forests surrounding the village. Once there, he angled west, until he passed the invisible border that divided wild forest from Inuzuka forests, marked only by scent and not sight. He ran for a few minutes, dropping from the trees and forcing himself to use the much slower pace that came with not propelling himself forward with chakra, until he reached the center of his home camp.

It was nothing fancy, just a nin-issue tent along a large boulder with a slightly smoking fire pit in front of it, set a few yards from the edge of a meandering arm of the river. Akamaru was sitting, staring at the smoke, waiting for some shred of excitement. As he smelled his partner, his ears perked up and he stood, ready for anything. It took a glance and two words to get the huge dog to bound over the smoke and to the man: "Let's go."

From there, Kiba, now accompanied by Akamaru, made his way to the Aburame complex. He jumped the wall, leaving Akamaru to stand guard for a minute, and dashed across the gardens again to Shino's window. He jumped onto the sill, overcome with déjà vu as he knocked on the window and called out, "Shino."

Except, this time, Shino did not move to open the window and glare at his teammate, who had disrupted his rest again. Instead, Shino rolled over on his bed, exposing his back to the window and the suddenly speechless Kiba. Where there should have been a smooth expanse of ivory skin, there was a jagged labyrinth of scars which seemed to shift on their own accord. Kiba stood there, half-sitting on his haunches, watching, but not understanding what he was seeing until one of the jagged edges seemed to expand unaided, then explode, releasing a spurt of chakra and a small Kikaichuu bug. Kiba wrinkled his nose as the smell of the chakra: an almost sickly-sweet smell, reminiscent of decaying flesh reached him.

For the first time in his life, Kiba wished for the Byakuugan, to be able to see what was going on inside of Shino's body, for with each new expulsion of a bug, which happened every few minutes, Shino stiffened and moaned in slight pain. And even as Kiba wished for the power of the white eyes, he was glad Hinata had not, and would not see this. Kiba turned slightly from the sight and whistled softly at a decibel too high for humans to hear. Seconds later, Akamaru was slinking across the garden to his side, nose wrinkled in distaste for the smell of decay on the wind. Kiba whispered to Akamaru as silently as he could manage and waited for the long inhalation and almost silent barks from his companion. His brow furrowed as what he learned penetrated his brain.

Shino was in serious pain, losing chakra, and the smell was not of Shino's body, but of his chakra decaying beneath his skin.

Kiba swallowed hard and dropped off the sill, walked across the gardens, slipped over the fence, and somehow made his way back to his forest, one thought ringing through his mind: Shino was dying.

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**Author's Note:**  
Ok, I really could have made this longer, and I probably should have, come to think of it, but I really wanted to stop this here.  
For those who care, I have decided to go with the "disturbing". The "horrifying" was too… dark for this particular story, but there's always next time…  
Today the thanks goes to Elviella (the ending will be happy, eventually…), Heiress of Nature (thanks for the double review, and beware: the cuteness will mostly die within the next chapter or two…), and, of course the ever review-giving Fishy (who seems to enjoy the fluffy scenes as well as the thought of disturbance to come.).  
Thanks guys, or girls, as the case may be.   
**-NAD**


	6. Musings

**DISCLAIMER:**  
I do not own any characters in the following story.

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Kiba walked along the river near his camp, eyes trained on the ground, mind spinning. There was no way that his team could be falling apart. He could not allow it. And yet...

He whirled around, kicking at a rock before dashing into the forest, beginning to take out his frustrations as he ran. Hinata was hurting, and whatever made her hurt, made her fear him and Shino. And Shino... Shino's chakra was dying. And it was his family's technique that was killing him.

Kiba hated feeling helpless. He hated it so much that it had been his driving force since he had been a child. He had sworn to himself that he would never be so weak as to need someone else to help him make any decisions, and yet... He wished he could talk to Hinata, see if she had any insight to share about Shino's situation. Surely, with all three of them working together, they could find a way to save Shino..?

And yet, he didnt want Hinata to see Shino and have to acknowledge that he was dying. She was strong, yes, but she was als fragile. He stopped pacing and looked at the slowly darkening sun, watching the light on the horizon turn a light peach, and thought about the oxymoron that was his teammate, his friend.

Hinata was strong. Strong enough to take on the burden of the Hyuuga household, he was sure. And she had been secretly protecting Hanabi for years now. Not to mention the fights with Neji that had the consequence of him acknowledging that she was strong enough to bear the Hyuuga name. And she had learned how to make a shield with her chakra, which Kiba still could not remember the name of... And he was sure she had picked up some healing jutsus from the recently developed friendship with Sakura... But, really, Hinata was a strong woman.

Kiba's smile disappeared as he realized that, for all her strengths, Hinata was also weak. She depended wholly on Shino and himself for support, and, without them, she was very likely to cave to anyones wishes. Hinata also didn't believe she could do anything of worth. She had been brainwashed by her family for so long that she had begun to believe it...

He looked away from the sky and to the flowing river before him. The fact that both of his teammates were not completely well was not to be borne. He glared at the water and began to plan.

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**Author's Note:**  
I am so sorry this chapter took so long to be posted. (And sorry for how short it is.)  
I actually had to re-write this chapter about five times before I gave up and stuck with this bit. I swear the next chapter will be posted faster.  
Special thanks go to Fishy and Heiress of Nature, and anyone else who reviewed and I accidentally missed.  
Many thanks for reading, and until next time  
-NAD


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